The Great Escape
by ada69
Summary: As the American Dragon, it is Jake's duty to protect the magical creatures within the boarder of his country. As an older brother, it's his job to make his little sister feel better when she's having the worst day ever. Dont own ADJL rated T for language.


**The Great Escape**

To Jake Long, a sixteen year old student at Fillmore High School, nothing could ever sound better than the final bell of the day on a beautiful, Friday afternoon. It was mid-may, and the end of the school year was quickly approaching. Students of all ages poured out of the front doors frantically, trying to get out as soon as possible so they could carry through with their usual, Friday night plans.

Jake pulled out the keys to his 2005 Volkswagen that he received for his sixteenth birthday only two months prior and slid into the driver's side. He pulled out of the parking lot carefully and headed off into the city.

Unlike most of his fellow sophomore students, Jake did not have the privilege of going off to enjoy his Friday night. Instead, he first had to pick up his little sister, Haley, from her elementary school a couple blocks away, and then he had to go to his grandpa's electronic shop for his dragon training.

He hated how everyone else his age had so much freedom and spare time, while he was running all over the place, barely having any time to even get his homework done. Lately both he and his sister had been training longer and harder than ever before. Jake had no idea how Haley could be so busy and still pull off 4.0s in school.

Jake sighed as he pulled up next to his little sister's school and parked the car. Normally, Jake usually arrived about a minute before the students were released from their last class.

Today, however, was different. Instead of looking out to see the school grounds deserted, Jake saw that the school had let out a few minutes early. Little kids crowded together outside the school, waiting for their parents to come and pick them up.

Jake rolled down the window and searched the grounds for his little sister. He finally spotted her, sitting on a bench surrounded by a bunch of girls that appeared to be about her age. Though his instinct told him something was wrong, Jake remained inside his car, not taking his eyes off of his ten year old little sister.

Finally, he saw Haley stand up and push past a few of the girls, obviously wanting to get away. One of the girls, however, stuck her foot out at the last minute, sending Haley stumbling to the ground.

"Shit," Jake muttered underneath his breath. He got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him. He knew that his sister got bullied and that she had very few friends, none of which would stand up for her in a situation like this, but he didn't know it was this bad.

Jake made his way over to the girls and stood behind Haley, who had remained sitting on the ground. The girls immediately scurried off into another direction. Jake guessed that they either noticed the family resemblance or he looked a lot tougher and scarier than he thought he did.

No sooner did he help his sister off the ground did she take off toward his car. Jake quickened his pace to keep up with his sister, who had now broken into a slight jog. She reached the car and practically threw herself into the passenger's side, finally letting the tears she had been holding back spill down her cheeks.

Jake entered from the driver's side and buckled up, hesitant to start the car just yet. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked his crying sister.

"No," she replied through her sobs.

Jake sighed. "Maybe you should talk to someone Haley. A teacher or something?"

"No," Haley shook her head, "that will only make it worse. Can't you just threaten them or something? They seemed to be pretty scared of you."

"Haley," Jake replied, "it's not like I can go beat up a bunch of little girls. I wish I could help, I really do, but I think you should tell a councilor of something. Who knows, it might help."

"No," Haley wiped away her tears, "let's just forget this ever happened. Let's go to Grandpa's."

Jake sighed. "Whatever, Hales." He really wished that there was something he could do. Anything. Even if it was just making her feel better. Then it came to him: the perfect solution. A solution that, if it turned out right, could help both him and his sister. All they needed was a little time off.

A spontaneous getaway.

Immediately, Jake turned off of his regular course and onto an unfamiliar street. He suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to get out of New York. Just this once, he needed to run away for the day, and he knew that his sister needed this equally as much.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Haley asked suspiciously.

"I don't know," Jake replied truthfully.

"Well, where are we going?" she asked impatiently.

"Not quite sure Hales," Jake replied, not taking his eyes off of the unfamiliar road.

"I'm calling Grandpa," Haley pulled out her cell phone.

"Good," Jake smiled, "tell him we're not gonna make it in today."

"Why?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

"Driving."

"Where?"

"I don't know." Jake was now grinning from ear to ear. He knew he was beginning to vex his sister, but he also knew that he was going to make her feel better. He had to.

Haley dialed the number and held the phone up to her ear. "Grandpa? Yeah Jake's gone insane."

Jake could not hear what his grandfather was saying, and truthfully, he'd rather not find out.

"Yeah Jake says that we aren't going to training today." Haley continued.

Jake could now hear faintly hear his grandfather yelling something in Chinese.

"Yeah, I know he's an idiot," Haley replied. She pulled the phone away for a minute and turned her attention to her older brother, who seemed to be slightly amused at her and her grandfather's frustration. "Grandpa wants to talk to you."

Jake smirked. "Tell him I'm driving."

Haley rolled her eyes and pulled the phone back up to her ear. "He says he's driving."

"Yeah, Yeah I know," Haley continued to talk into the phone. "Ok, bye grandpa."

Haley closed her phone and looked back over to Jake. "Are you absolutely insane? Grandpa's going to kill you!"

Jake laughed. "He'll get over it. Ever since we defeated the Dark Dragon last year, business has been slow in the magical world. And even if something does happen, I'm sure Rose will cover for me."

"Where are we?" Haley asked looking around. She looked back to see the city not too far behind them.

"On the highway outta here," Jake laughed. "Seriously Haley, I don't know where we're going. I'm just going to drive and see where we end up."

Haley shook her head. "You're crazy."

"What?" Jake replied. "Haven't you ever seen this kind of movie? We need a break. You need a break. Right now, we are just going to forget about everything else and just kind of sort of live in the moment. The best thing you can right now is go with the flow, and worry about everything else later."

Haley slumped back into her seat. "I hope you know how to get back."

"Actually," Haley corrected herself, "I hope you don't know how to get back. That way, you can live a little longer before Grandpa kills you!"

"I thought I told you not to worry," Jake said.

"Since when do take orders from you?" Haley sneered.

"Jeesh," Jake replied, "you'll thank me later. I guarantee it."

They drove in silence for awhile, taking in the unfamiliar landscape that surrounded them. They had been driving for almost an hour, and Jake decided that they were going to stop at the next town. He had not decided what he was planning on doing there quite yet, but he knew that he would eventually thing of something.

A few more minutes passed before Jake spotted an exit to a town called "Fairview." While he had never heard of the town, he made a split decision to take the exit and see what was in this somewhat small town.

"Jake, what was the point of the hour long drive when all it did for us was get us lost in the middle of nowhere?" Haley asked.

"You're missing the point, Hales," Jake smiled. "Getting lost in the middle of nowhere is the objective."

Haley shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

Jake just smiled and continued to drive down the streets of Fairview. While being incredibly small, there seemed to be enough restaurants and stores. One particular shop caught his attention straight away. A tiny store on the corner by the name of Mindy's Candy.

Immediately, he pulled up next to the curb and parked the car. "Come on Haley," he urged, "get out of the car."

Hesitantly, she climbed out of the Volkswagen and made her way to a nearby sidewalk. "A candy shop? Really, Jake? You think driving for 65 minutes to a candy shop is going to make me feel better?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know about you but a little candy always brightens my day. Come on Haley. You could use some fudge."

Haley rolled her eyes and followed him into the shop.

**XX**

Twenty minutes later, Jake and Haley finally emerged from the shop, each carrying three, very large bags.

"What do you think mom and dad are going to say when they find out that we bought six, large bags of pure fudge?" Haley asked.

Her brother shrugged. "What mom and dad don't know won't hurt them."

Haley let a small smile cross her face as she loaded the bags into the back seat of Jake's car. She couldn't believe how much fudge they had bought. She couldn't believe how much fudge she had EATEN.

She closed the door to find Jake staring at her, wearing a cocky smirk across his face.

"What?" Haley returned the stare.

"You were smiling," Jake grinned.

Immediately, Haley lost the slight smile she had had only a second before. "So."

"So," Jake continued, "You're not thinking about school anymore."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Well I am now."

"Sorry," Jake looked away. "Well, get in the car. I'm going to find somewhere for us to eat dinner at."

Jake walked over to the driver's side and hopped in. Haley soon followed, and Jake drove off down the street. "Keep your eyes peeled for somewhere to eat." He told his sister. "I don't know what they have out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Would about there?" Haley pointed to a beaten down building on her right with a sign that read "Kate's Diner."

Jake shrugged and pulled over next to the restaurant. "As long as they have food, that's edible, then I'm fine with it."

The two siblings once again got out of the car and made their way into the restaurant.

**XX**

About an hour later, Jake and Haley left the restaurant and headed back to the car. No sooner than when they entered, they both burst into hysterical laughter. Haley clutched her stomach, trying to catch her breath, while Jake wiped the tears of laughter out of his eyes.

"Oh my god!" Jake finally stopped laughing. "That might have just been the weirdest place I've ever been to in my entire life."

"I know," Haley laughed. "Those smiley face fries they gave me didn't look happy, they looked evil."

"No, the best part was when that little kid behind us threw the giant crayon at your head!" Haley smiled. "I thought he was going to knock you out there for a second!"

"I know!" Jake exclaimed. "And those were NOT the little tiny crayons that normal kids use. They were those giant, mega sized crayons!"

"We're lucky we got out of that place alive!" Haley agreed.

Still laughing, Jake started the car and continued down the street. "How about you pick the next place we go."

"I don't know," Haley replied, "I picked out the restaurant and look at how THAT turned out!"

"Touché," Jake replied. "Still, go ahead and pick."

"Ummmmm," Haley took a look at their surroundings. "How about we go to that park over there."

Jake shrugged. "Works for me." He pulled into a nearby parking space and once again parked the car. Both siblings got out and made their way over to the swings.

"Man I haven't been on a swing since I was 8," Jake said as he sat down on a nearby swing.

"Then you're missing out," Haley replied. "I bet I can go higher than you."

Jake smiled. "I bet you can't."

"You're on!" Haley replied.

Jake and Haley kicked off the ground and began to pump their legs back and forth, soaring higher and higher into the darkening sky. They appeared to be about even height wise, so Jake began to pump his legs faster, using his arms for support.

"See Haley," Jake called over to her, "You can't beat m-" He was cut off at the sound of a loud crack. Before he had time to figure out what it was, he felt himself falling out of the sky. The next thing he knew, he was laying flat on his back in the middle of the park.

Haley rushed over to make sure he was still breathing. It wasn't until her brother sat up and groaned that she burst into hysterical laugher, clutching her stomach to keep from falling over. "What was that you were saying about me not being able to beat you?"

"Shut up Haley," Jake replied heatedly, but he couldn't help but smile a little bit at his sister's happiness. He got up slowly and looked over at the now broken swing. "Shit. We need to get out of here."

He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her over to the car, throwing her inside and running over to the driver's side. "We need to get out of this town. We did not break the swing in the park. I repeat we did NOT. They can't prove anything."

Haley was still laughing uncontrollably when Jake pulled out of the park, driving back towards the highway they had came on.

"I can't believe you broke the swing!" Haley smiled. "How much do you weight, anyway?"

"What swing?" Jake smiled. "There wasn't a swing. I never broke anything."

Jake lowered his voice to a whisper. "That never happened."

"What never happened?" Haley smiled.

"The Sw-" Jake caught himself just in time and smiled. "You're good at this."

"I know," Haley replied.

"Well, it's getting late," Jake said, "and we probably need to get home. But the fun does not end here! It is time…" he paused dramatically, "to break open the fudge!"

"Yay," Haley replied opening one of the bags and pulling out a small portion of fudge. She handed some to Jake before eating some herself.

"So, what are we going to tell grandpa?" Haley changed the subject.

"The truth I suppose," he replied. "Maybe if he finds out I was just trying to make you feel better he'll go easy on me."

"Don't worry," Haley replied, "I'll stick up for you."

"Don't worry huh?" Jake smiled. "That sounds MUCH better than earlier this evening."

Haley smiled. "Well, I guess taking a break once in a while isn't such a bad thing."

Jake laughed. "You sound a lot better than you did earlier."

"I feel a lot better too," Haley smiled. "Thanks, Jake. You really were right when you said that I would thank you later. You made me feel a lot better today when I thought I would never smile again."

"You're welcome Haley," Jake smiled. "As the American Dragon, it is my duty to protect all the magical creatures that lie within the borders of this country. As your older brother, it's my job to look after you and make you feel better when you're having days like this."

Haley smiled. "You're the best big brother ever."

"I know," Jake replied cockily, "I know."


End file.
